Thursday, February 21, 2019

DCSHG: #StreetStyle


The latest DC Rebirth I have been coming to grips with is the Lauren Faust take on the DC Superhero Girls. It definitely is a rehash of Faust's Super Best Friends Forever, a series I loved when it came out.

The Supergirl in the SBFF's was definitely brash. She was something of an instigator. Maybe even a little punk. We have only seen glimpses of her in the latest DC Superhero Girls shorts but it is clear that she is more of the action oriented, authority-chafing Kara from the SBFFs instead of the awkward, shy, lonely Kara from the Shea Fontana DC Superhero girls. In our quick looks, we have seen her sleep-fly, crashing through buildings. We have seen her toss tacos in a food fight and be called a bully.

Finally, in the #StreetStyle, we actually get a true glimpse into this Supergirl's personality. Here is a link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSb6R4TSIIc


It is funny. I think if this was the comic Supergirl, I'd probably bristle. But here, in the DCSHG, I don't mind this loud Kara. In fact, I think she is kind of fun. And my guess is she will demonstrate the sort of fierce defense of the helpless as well as the fierce pursuit in justice that I love in the character.

On to the short.


Her alarm clock goes off and in seconds Kara smashes it to bits.

This must be a common occurrence. She has a stack of new clocks by her bed. She quickly activates a new one.

But you already get a sense of this Supergirl from her choice in decor. No bed, sleeping on floor mattress. The colors are drab. The wall has a skull picture, police tape, a Keep Out sign, and a 'Keep Calm and Rock On' poster. She has a lava lamp and a broken mirror.

This is Spartan. This is punk.


But when she rouses she sees a note that says it is picture day and a pretty dress has been left out for her.

The dress is a 'free love' hippie number complete with peace necklace and floral tiara. When we see the outfit we get a vision of rainbows, VW vans, the peace sign, doves, and flowers. It is clear that Supergirl's family has a very different style than she does.

She groans as she sees it.


And then to make sure she wears it, we see a note saying that all her other clothes have been removed from the premises.

I love that she is part of the Danvers family! Hooray continuity.

And I love that their new age love is so evident, even in this note. They are her 'totally supportive' guardians.


 Of course the best laid plans oft go awry.

On the way to school, Kara rips the sleeves when she saves a runaway baby carriage (turns out it is a doll pram). She rips the dress on the fender of a car that slams into her.


 She gets attacked by a giant bulldog who got loose from their leash.

In the Looney Tunes scuffle, her peace necklace is switched with the dog's spiked collar.


And then she gets to stop a bank robber, punching him out and hogtying  the thief with the flowers.

I do love how happy Kara is as she performs these feats of daring. And she is proud of her body, flexing her muscles throughout the short.


When she examines the bag the crook was stealing, the ink-bombs attached to money explodes in her face.

This whole things does have a sort of Merry Melodies/Tom & Jerry feel to it. It is clear that physical comedy is going to be part of this new direction.

Finally arriving at school, Kara is asked by the photographer if she wants to clean up or at least brush her hair.

When Kara peeks into the mirror and see the enormous mess she is, she is thrilled. This is a perfect look for her.

I grew up with Bugs Bunny cartoons. I love Looney Tunes. So I get the sense I am going to love this new DCSHG. And I think my love of the format will also make me love this Supergirl. She takes no guff. She is irritating in an endearing way.

Look forward to more.

Now I just want to see her in her actual costume!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I’m just telling myself that Fontana’s version is Kara Zor-El and Faust’s is Kara Zor-L.

Anj said...

Anon ... that’s awesome!

Anonymous said...

"It is funny. I think if this was the comic Supergirl, I'd probably bristle."

Probably. Personally I'm bored of the "Look at me, I'm an edgy anti-authority ultra-rebel!" stereotype. Real, real bored. And when someone tries to cast comic Kara into that mold... it usually fails.

So far, so good. Although I have the feeling that Lauren Faust is assigning tropes to every character. Her six-lead cast needed a rebel, and she decided Supergirl would be it.

I have the feeling that her rough, tomboyish, rebellious attitude is a façade, though. A feeling reinforced by her "Get You Know" short where Babs said "She wants you to think she doesn't care, but really, she's just a big softie", or the trailer where her co-leads are staring at her hopefully, and Kara reluctantly shrugs off and states "Friends forever".

By the way, speaking about the "Get You Know" short, Babs had "SBFF" jotted down in her notebook. Easter eggs aside, I hope it hints both girls will be close in this continuity, too.

The short was funny. I'm glad that she is adopted by the Danvers. Don't misunderstand me, I want her to have a good relationship with the Kents, I want her to consider them her uncle and aunt, but I don't want her to be raised by them. She's her own character, not Superman 2.0, no matter what three or four posters over Superman Homepage WANT to believe.

So, yes. I'm happy with the Danvers adopting her. I wonder if it'll be explained why Superman isn't raising her.

She may think that messy look is perfect, but I'm betting ten years from now she'll wonder what she was thinking of when she got her picture taken.

Anyway, she isn't even trying to conceal her identity. No glasses, wig or color-changing device.

"I grew up with Bugs Bunny cartoons. I love Looney Tunes. So I get the sense I am going to love this new DCSHG."

Lauren Faust has commented the actual chapters will have a different feeling. I guess the shorts will be Bugs Bunny kind of comedy whereas the actual chapters will be somewhat more serious.

Anonymous said...

Yeah the hairstyle etc strongly suggests "Young Power Girl" not strictly speaking the original Kara Zor El...but all the same it was a very funny cartoon, "Rebellious Kara" seems to work better in a semi humorous format, she gets her point across without being scary.
The main thing is, she makes a good contrast with Batgirl in any notional team ups going forward...

JF

Anonymous said...

> I think if this was the comic Supergirl, I'd probably bristle. But here, in the DCSHG, I don't mind
> this loud Kara. In fact, I think she is kind of fun.

I'm kind of amused by this contradition, Anj. On one hand, this doesn't stray too far from SBFF's
rendition of Supergirl, but on the other, she's been seen instigating food fights, been called a bully,
and a few other red flags, IMHO.

You're right that the Looney Toons physical comedy to things kept things amusing, and the "Get To Know
You" has basically established the characters and their personalities. See where this goes, I guess
-- my immediate visceral reaction is I don't hate this "new" DCSHG, but I can't help but miss the Shea
Fontana version more. We did get a Supergirl/Batgirl friendship right out the gate, I will give Faust
kudos for not forgetting that!

Oh, and I don't know if anyone's caught the Lego 2 movie yet, blink and you might miss the Lego DCSHG
they snuck in. SWEET!!


Regards

Anj said...

I suppose the bully aspect is a lesson to be learned.
Maybe Kara doesn’t realize that the food fight (and why it is instigated perhaps) is a form of bullying. Once she hears that, she softens,.

As said, in the Get To Know Kara short ( in the queue for next week), they say she is a softie who defends people.

Anonymous said...

"Although I have the feeling that Lauren Faust is assigning tropes to every character. Her six-lead cast needed a rebel, and she decided Supergirl would be it."

I got that vibe, too, especially after Jessica Cruz's "get to know you" short. She's not the character I'd peg to be the outspoken, ultra-passionate environmentalist.

I do like buff, feisty Kara, but I think it's because (a) you rarely see buff girls portrayed as heroes (looking at you, Steven Universe & Jasper) and (b) it's being handled with more skill than the comics have handled Kara's "tough & edgy" phases. So far. Fingers crossed they don't screw it up once the TV show proper starts.

William Ashley Vaughan said...

I like that the tough girl/punk aspect of this Supergirl is more a matter of style than substance. She might grumble a little, but she doesn't seem seriously alienated or embittered and she spends the entire cartoon helping people as a true Supergirl should. The whole thing was very funny, especially the bit with the alarm clock.

iopy said...

I’m a bit worried about how my grand daughter and her friends are going to feel about Poison Ivy being a villain in this new series since she’s one of their favorite characters in the current ones. I guess this will be an opportunity to discuss how characters change depending on the creators involved.

Anonymous said...

They may be even less happy that Poison Ivy is among the dead in Heroes in Crisis! No one alive is happy about that. (Or any of the other deaths for that matter. DC is nuts, or reboot-ready. Or this Sanctuary is on some alt Earth - psych!)

KET said...

All the new DCSHG shorts and promos are on an endless loop over on YouTube. So I've seen everything several times lately. Supergirl and Batgirl personalities are definitely lifted from SBBF, yet given some new expansive quirks as well.

So far, so good. Looking forward to the series premiere.

KET

iopy said...

“They may be even less happy that Poison Ivy is among the dead in Heroes in Crisis!”

They’re unaware of comic books continuity though they’ve expressd interest. DCSHG and the associated toys is their experience with these superheroes. They’re a bit young for books as brutal as Heroes in Crisis. Then again, so am I.

I’d hazard a guess that the audience for DCSHG doesn’t have as large an overlap with comics as shows like Young Justice.

Anonymous said...

Last week was the big Toy Fair in NYC...and they showed the dolls from the DCSHG reboot, including Supergirl as well as one where you can turn her from Kara Danvers into SG. It will take some getting used to as there are reboots everywhere it seems.

Anonymous said...

"but on the other, she's been seen instigating food fights, been called a bully, and a few other red flags, IMHO."

Well, as a matter of fact, she didn't instigate any food fights. And you should have waited to watch the full scene instead of jumping to conclusions based on a five-seconds scene taken out of context.